Radiolab: Limits – Fantastic Podcast Episode about Endurance Athletes

I’m a sucker for a good endurance sports story, and more often than not, when it involves people demonstrating incredible perseverance, I tend to get a bit emotional (think NOVA Marathon Challenge or Spirit of the Marathon). The other day a friend of mine on dailymile posted a link to a podcast episode from WYNC’s Radiolab that told several stories of people testing the limits of human the human body, both physical and mental. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to getting a little choked up while listening to this. Here’s the episode description from the Radiolab website:

“Jad and Robert talk to two Ironman competitors, Julie Moss and Wendy Ingraham to find out how they do what they do. Physiologist Dr. David Jones tells us how to trick the voice in your head that tells you you’re exhausted. Then we follow two men, Patrick Autissier and Jure Robic, as they bike across the country as fast as they can in a crazy race called The Ride Across America. Producer Lulu Miller brings us their story and New York Times writer Daniel Coyle walks us through the process of physical and mental breakdown RAAM competitors face.“

This is an absolutely amazing podcast episode, and one that I would highly recommend that you listen to – I will never forget Julie Moss’ recounting of how her mind told her to “Get Up” when her body was breaking down at the end of her Ironman. Pure inspiration.

This post was authored by Peter Larson. Pete is a recovering academic who currently works as an exercise physiologist, running coach, and writer. He's also a father of three and a fanatical runner with a bit of a shoe obsession. In addition to writing and editing this site, he is co-author of the book Tread Lightly, and writes a personal blog called The Blogologist. Follow Pete on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and via email.

Search Runblogger

Disclosure: This site uses affiliate links. You should assume that any link to an online retailer on Runblogger is an affiliate link, meaning that Runblogger Media, LLC receives a small commission for any sale made. For more information, click the badge to the left.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. Any shared or re-posted material from this blog shall be attributed to Peter Larson and www.runblogger.com.Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor - opinions expressed on this blog are my own, and thus should not considered medical advice. Be smart, run safe. Disclosure Policy: You can view my Disclosure Policy here.